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A federal judge on Wednesday refused to free Haysville nurse Linda Schneider, who is accused with her husband of running a clinic linked to dozens of overdose deaths, saying she remains a flight risk.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald Bostwick ordered Linda Schneider held until her Feb. 2 trial on charges of conspiracy, unlawful distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death, health care fraud, illegal money transactions and money laundering.

An indictment against her and her husband, Stephen Schneider, links the couple's Haysville clinic to the accidental overdose deaths of 56 patients. It also accuses the couple of directly causing four deaths and contributing to the deaths of 11 other patients. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Stephen Schneider was released in April, but his wife has been held since her arrest in December.

In his ruling, Bostwick said the government established that she has the financial means to flee to Mexico, has a long-term lease on a home in that country, and has close friends or relatives who could help her avoid detention.

A western Kansas man whose girlfriend became physically stuck to the toilet after refusing to leave their bathroom for two years will spend six months on probation.

Kory McFarren pleaded no contest last month to a misdemeanor count of mistreatment of a dependent adult.

Ness County District Court Magistrate James Kepple sentenced McFarren on Tuesday to six months in jail, but granted the probation after the victim sent a written statement and phoned Kepple asking for leniency for McFarren.

"She didn't believe that her circumstances were his fault," Ness County Attorney Craig Crosswhite said.

Relatives of the woman have said she and McFarren lived together for 16 years.

Jurors in the capital-murder case of a man accused of killing two women viewed a DVD recording Wednesday of the women being beaten and sexually tortured.

The jury in the trial of Richard Davis, 44, reviewed 90 minutes of edited images taken from seven hours of videotapes that police found in Davis' Independence apartment.

According to previous testimony, the videotapes showed Davis and his girlfriend, Dena Riley, brutalizing two women -- Marsha Spicer, 41, and Michelle Huff-Ricci, 36.

Davis is on trial in Jackson County for the May 2006 death of Spicer, of Independence. He faces 40 felony counts, including capital murder, and could face the death penalty if convicted.

Riley's trial is scheduled for next year.

The two candidates with the biggest campaign coffers in Sedgwick County said they were surprised that their primary race for judge is at the top.

"I thought the sheriff's race would raise more money than a judicial race," said Sean Corrigan McEnulty.

"I had no idea what to expect," said Bruce Brown, an appointed Wichita Municipal Court judge running in his first election for District Court.

The two Republican primary contenders have raised more than $80,000 between them and spent more than $70,000. That's more than any other county race.

The primary winner will run against Democrat Sharon Dickgrafe for the Division 1 seat in the November general election. Dickgrafe has only spent about $7,200 of the slightly more than $22,000 she's raised so far.

About 150 baseball fans stopped by the Project Vote Smart bus Wednesday night during its stop at a Wichita Wingnuts baseball double-header.

Tallie Spiller, spokeswoman for the project's National Bus Tour, said those who were interested were shown how to use the group's Web site, www.votesmart.org, to gather information about political candidates from across the country.

She said the nonprofit, nonpartisan group researches the backgrounds and records of thousands of political candidates in an effort to collect accurate and relevant information about them.

The group uses the Web site to distribute information about candidates' voting records and campaign contributions, and to publish evaluations generated by more than 100 competing special interest groups.

The bus will visit 150 cities before ending its tour in Washington, D.C., on Election Day, Nov. 4.

Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts joined at least five of his Republican colleagues Wednesday in shedding contributions from Ted Stevens, the longtime Alaska senator indicted on seven felony counts of making false statements.

Campaign spokeswoman Molly Haase said Roberts told his campaign to donate to Kansas charities the nearly $20,000 that he had received from Stevens since 2001. Roberts, like many of the others giving up the donations, is up for re-election this fall.

The decision came hours after Stevens was charged with failing to disclose $250,000 worth of home renovations and gifts from an oil services company that also lobbied him for government aid.

Campaign officials for Jim Slattery, a Democrat challenging Roberts in the Senate race, had called on Roberts to give away all the money he had received from Stevens and the Alaska senator's political action committee.

Rutgers University political science professor Ross Baker said the move by lawmakers to quickly distance themselves from Stevens is all about political reality.

Jim Ryun's campaign to reclaim the 2nd Congressional District seat harks back to his days as one of the world's best long-distance runners and the moments after he was tripped in an Olympic qualifying race.

His first television ad showed now-famous footage of Ryun, a Wichita East High School grad, finishing that race in 1972 in Munich.

Ryun's fame helped him win the 2nd District seat in 1996 as a Republican, and he held it for 10 years, beating Democrat Nancy Boyda handily in 2004 for his fifth term. But two years later, Boyda capitalized on a wave of frustration with President Bush and the Iraq war and ousted Ryun.

He expresses confidence that he'll return to Congress. But first he has to persuade fellow Republicans in Tuesday's primary to give him another chance and defeat State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins.

"You learn a lot from your mistakes," Ryun said. "You can stumble, but if you learn from stumbling, it makes you that much stronger as a person and a candidate."

One has a name virtually everyone knows.

The other is seeking office for the first time.

Together, Phill Kline and Steve Howe are fighting a contentious primary race over who should be Johnson County's next district attorney.

Kline says his experience as Kansas attorney general and his 18 months as district attorney make him the stronger leader. He says he is bringing change to the office that is long overdue, including collaborating more with federal authorities.

Howe has 18 years of experience as a prosecutor. He was an assistant district attorney in Johnson County until Kline took over.

Beginning today, you can cast ballots for the Aug. 5 primary election at sites across the county.

You can go to these advance voting centers from noon to 7 p.m. today and Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday:

• Bel Aire City Building, 7651 E. Central Park Ave.

• Center for Health and Wellness, 2707 E. 21st St.

• Church of the Holy Spirit, 18218 W. U.S. 54, Goddard

OILMAN PUSHES ENERGY REFORM

Pushing wind power in Wichita and Topeka, billionaire oil magnate T. Boone Pickens brought his crusade for energy independence to Kansas on Wednesday. In a meeting with Eagle editorial and news staff, he outlined his proposal to develop enough wind power to meet about 20 percent of the nation's energy needs and divert natural gas from electricity production to fuel motor vehicles.

To drum up support for his plan, Pickens later addressed a packed town hall meeting in Topeka.

Mesa Power, a company Pickens created, is investing about $2 billion in a Texas wind plant that will generate enough electricity to power about 300,000 homes.

He's also invested some of his $4 billion wealth into efforts to establish natural gas fueling centers in California.